Home Again
by Robin Sparrow
Summary: A short follow up to Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder... about how Jack finally gets the Black Pearl back at the end of the first movie. One Shot.


Muahaha... _Dead Man's Chest_ is awesome! But don't worry... no spoilers in this one... promise. XD Just a short, follow-up one-shot to "Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder"... with a much happier ending. It's about how Jack gets the _Black Pearl_ back at the end of the first movie... R&R, please!

**Disclaimer**: Bah, humbug. I own nothing, and that's the end of it.

**

* * *

**

There's no place like home – especially after spending years away from it. Just that feeling of knowing where you are, of knowing you belong… it could bring a grown man to tears. Even the coldest of hearts has a soft spot for that which we call a home – no matter how small or how well-hidden, it's there, somewhere. Though some of us are more inclined to venture out into the world than to stay put, even a wanderer's path may lead him to where he belongs, if he only follows his heart… for a home, you must understand, is not simply just a house – nor is it necessarily where your roots lie. It is where you are welcome, where you are happy, where you are loved… and a place which you welcome and love in return. It is a sanctuary, a hiding place, a safe place… sometimes the only place in the world where you can relax and rest. Home is where your heart is.

A house is not always a home – after all, it's not the walls and the roof that make a home, but rather what's inside. Home may be a bench, a forest, a tree, or even the dark space under a sink. Depending on who you are, what you want, and where your heart lies, home can be anything, or anywhere… even inside your own head.

For Captain Jack Sparrow, however, home was a ship – and not just any ship. This ship was the fastest, sleekest, darkest, and most beautiful ship in the Caribbean… and her name was the _Black Pearl_.

For ten years, he'd searched; for ten years, he'd tried to save her, failed, and tried again. For an entire decade he'd lived without her – his home, his love… his heart. Losing her had been like losing part of himself, an essential part which he intended to get back, if it was the last thing he ever did.

And now, at last, she was his again.

He still could barely believe it. Even as the blood-stained planks creaked beneath the weight of his boots and the black sails above billowed gently in the Caribbean breeze, he still couldn't quite take it all in yet. He'd almost given up hope, the last few years, though he'd promised himself (and the _Pearl_) that he'd get her back. And then, one day, the son of his old friend Bill Turner had turned up in his life, and started an adventure none of them would ever forget… an adventure which had now led him, here at the end of the story, back to his one true love. It sounded like it had all come straight out of a storybook, and Jack was almost scared to trust it – afraid that, after all that had happened, she would still disappear the moment he touched her, like she had so many times before in his dreams. For all he knew, this too was just another dream.

Slowly, carefully, he approached the helm, his old boots tapping quietly against the darkened wood. He reached a hand out, and haltingly touched the edge of the wheel with just a fingertip, waiting with each and every breath for it all to go away again, leaving him alone as before.

Nothing happened.

He paused just a little longer, hoping for the first time that it truly wasn't a dream after all. He closed his eyes, opened them again… and smiled. Moving closer, he ran his hand along the smooth, dark wood of the helm, caressing the _Pearl_ like a lover who'd been away from home too long. His grin widened, showing a few gold and silver caps – after ten long years of what had felt like eternity, he'd finally found her. He had missed her so much, and he could tell by the loving way the wheel responded to his every motion and the welcoming way the deck creaked beneath his feet that she had missed her captain just as much. He looked around proudly – he'd always said she was the most loyal friend he'd ever had.

Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted as he realized everyone – including that damn parrot – was staring at him. He frowned, feeling extremely uncomfortable with so many eyes watching him. "On deck, you scabrous dogs!" he shouted in a commanding, I'm-the-Captain tone of voice. "Man the braces! Let down and haul to run free!" He grinned again as the crew scurried about and frantically scrambled to carry out their captain's orders. He tightened his grip on the helm, and stood up straight and tall like the proud and confident man he was. "Now… bring me that horizon!"

Humming to himself, he pulled out his compass to find a new heading. He wasn't sure where it would point now – after all, he had what he had desired most for the last ten years… but wherever it pointed, he would go. He had nothing to fear now except fear itself.

"And really bad eggs…" he murmured, recalling a bit of the song Elizabeth had taught him. It really was a very good song – one of these days, he would have try to teach it to the crew. He grinned his trademark grin as he thought of the adventures that lay ahead – adventures, he knew, that he would have on the _Black_ _Pearl_. Though he knew there were some dangerous times ahead – the least of which concerned the Navy – it didn't matter. He had the _Pearl_, and he was a whole man for the first time in a decade. He was home again.

"Drink up, me hearties, yo ho!"


End file.
